All of you there in Rome [i.e., the church there] are also among such obedient believers. You are called Jesus Christ's [people], loved by God and called to be His holy people. May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I want you to be aware, brothers, of how frequently I [had] planned to visit you (but was prevented from doing so until now). I wanted to come in order to bear some fruit [i.e., make additional converts] among you, just as I have done among the other Gentiles [i.e., unconverted people].

I have a debt to pay [i.e., an obligation to preach] to Greeks and heathens; to the educated and to the ignorant.

For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, [capable of] being perceived through the things that He has made. So, these people have no excuse [i.e., for not believing in Him].

So, God allowed [or, abandoned] them to have the impure desires of their hearts, and to [practice] degrading behavior with their bodies among themselves.

And since these people refused to acknowledge God, He has allowed [or, abandoned] them to have degraded minds and to practice those things which they should not do.

they do not have any sense; they do not keep their promises; they fail to show natural affection; and they are merciless.

So, whoever you are, you people do not have any excuse for judging people [Note: At this point Paul begins addressing the Jews. See verse 17]. For in a matter where you judge someone else [to be wrong] you [actually] condemn yourselves, because you are practicing the same things [you condemn them for doing].

But to the ones who have selfish ambition [Note: Some translate these words "are contentious"] and refuse to obey the truth, but [instead] obey what is wrong, [God will bring] wrath, fury,

For all those people [i.e., Gentiles] who have sinned without [knowing] the law of Moses will also be lost without [knowing] that law. And all those people [i.e., Jews] who have sinned under [the authority] of the law of Moses will be judged by [the requirements of] that law.

(For when the [unconverted] Gentiles, who do not have the law of Moses, instinctively practice [some of] its requirements, they become their own lawmakers, even though they do not have the law of Moses.

if you know His will and have been taught by the law of Moses to [evaluate and] give approval to what is best;

Now the practice of circumcision [i.e., the Jewish rite of identity, signifying the responsibility to observe the law of Moses] is worthwhile, providing you obey [the rest of] the law of Moses. But if you disobey the law, you might as well have never been circumcised.

So, will not those physically uncircumcised people [i.e., the Gentiles], who obey the law, condemn you [Jews] for breaking the law, even though you have the written code and [practice] circumcision?

What advantage then does the Jew have [i.e., over the Gentile]? Or what value is there in circumcision?

What then? Are we [Jews] any better off [than those Gentiles]? No, not at all, for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] alike are under [the power of] sin,

Everyone has turned away [from God]. All of them have become worthless. No one is [always] kind; no, not even one person."

[Psa. 5:9 says], "Their throats are like open graves [i.e., they are foul-mouthed]. They have spoken deceitfully." [Psa. 90:3 says], "There is snake venom under their lips [i.e., their words are deadly]."

They have not known [how to walk on] a peaceful pathway."

[In doing this] God [also] demonstrated His justice [to people] of this present time, that He Himself is just and the One who makes the people right with Him who have faith in Jesus.

For if Abraham had been made right with God by doing good deeds he would have had something to boast about, but not in God's presence.

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal [confirming] that he had been [considered] righteous because of the faith he had before being circumcised. Thus, he became the [spiritual] father of all people who believe [in God], even though they have not been circumcised, so that they could be considered righteous [by their faith].

just as it is written [Gen. 17:5], "I [i.e., God] have made you [i.e., Abraham] forefather of many nations." He received this promise in the presence of God, in whom he believed, and who gives life [back] to dead people and who refers to things [promised] as though they were [already] fulfilled.

So, since we are made right with God by [our] faith, we have peace with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through Jesus we have also gained access by [our] faith to this unearned favor [of God]. We stand firm in it, and are glad that we have the hope of being honored by God.

For if while we were [God's] enemies, we were restored to fellowship with Him through the death of His Son, now that we have been restored, how much more [certainly] will we be saved [from condemnation] by His life!

And not only is this true, but we also rejoice in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have been restored to fellowship with God.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through [the action of] one man [i.e., Adam] and [physical] death through that sin, so [physical] death has spread to all people, because all people have sinned. [Note: This difficult passage (verses 12-21) seems to be saying that the entire human race must experience physical death because of Adam's sin (I Cor. 5:22), which is somehow considered to be everyone's sin. See Murray, pp. 180-187, for a thorough discussion].

What shall we say, then? Should we continue sinning so that more of God's unearned favor will [have to] be shown?

For, if we have become united with Christ in an act similar to His death [i.e., by being buried in water], we will also be [united with Him] in an act similar to His resurrection from the dead [i.e., our rising from the water to live a new life].

Now if we have died with Christ [i.e., to the practice of sin], we believe we will also live with Him. [Note: This "living" probably refers to our spiritual relationship with Him during our Christian life].

We know that Christ was raised from the dead, never to die again, because death does not have control over Him any longer.

For sin must not be your master [i.e., it must not have power over you], for you are not governed by law, but by God's unearned favor.

But now, since you have been freed from [the practice of] sin and have become slaves to God, the benefits you receive are a holy life [here] and never ending life in the future.

But now that we have died to what controlled us and have been released from [the requirements of] the law of Moses [i.e., under the Gospel age], we serve [God] in a new way [directed] by the Holy Spirit [Note: Some take "Spirit" here to be "spirit" and see it as describing the inner person], and not in the old way [directed] by the written law of Moses.

What shall we say then? Is the law of Moses sinful? Certainly not! For I would not have known what sin was if it had not been for the law. For [example]; I would not have known [what it meant] to covet [i.e., have a strong desire for what belongs to someone else] except that the law said [Ex. 20:17], "You must not covet."

But if the Spirit of God [truly] lives in your heart, you are not [being controlled] by the flesh, but by the Holy Spirit. But if any person does not have the Spirit of Christ [living in him], he does not belong to Christ.

And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25].

And not just the world, but even we [Christians] ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit [i.e., the first installment of our inheritance from God] also groan within us, eagerly waiting to be adopted as [God's] children, and receive back our bodies [i.e., in the resurrection].

No, [suffering any one of these things is not proof that Christ does not love us], for in spite of all these things we have a decisive victory [over life's difficulties] through [the care shown us by] Christ who loved us.

that I have great sorrow and continual anguish in my heart.

the Israelites. These people are God's adopted children; they have [experienced] His glorious presence; they have [received] His Agreements; they have been given the law of Moses; they possess the [Temple] service and the promises [of God].

Neither are all [Jewish] people children [of God], [simply] because they are Abraham's descendants. But [Gen. 21:12 says], "It is through Isaac that you [i.e., Abraham] will have descendants."

For these are the words of the promise [Gen. 18:10], "I [i.e., God] will come at the appointed time and Sarah will have a son."

Or, does not the potter have the right to make what he wants to out of the clay? Can he not make both a beautiful vase and a common pot out of the same lump [of clay]?

And, as Isaiah had said in a previous passage [1:9], "If the Lord of the [heavenly] armies [i.e., Almighty God] had not left us some descendants [i.e., a small minority], we would have become like Sodom; He would have made us like Gomorrah [i.e., destroyed]."

Even as it is written [Ex. 28:16], "Look, I am placing a stone in the city of Zion that people will stumble over and a rock on which they will trip and fall. But the person who believes in Him will not be put to shame [i.e., he will never have unforgiven sin brought up against him]."

For I can testify that they have an enthusiasm for God, but it is without [true] knowledge.

For the Scripture says [Isa. 28:16], "Whoever believes in Him [i.e., Christ] will not be put to shame." [i.e., he will never have unforgiven sin brought up against him]

For there is no distinction [with God] between Jews and Greeks [i.e., Gentiles], for all have the same Lord, who is generous to all who appeal to Him [for help].

[But] how can they appeal to Him if they have not [first] believed in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have not [first] heard [about Him]? And how can they hear [about Him] if there is no preacher?

[I Kings 19:10], "Lord, they [i.e., the Israelites] have killed your prophets and have destroyed your altars; I am the only one left and they are trying to kill me, too."

But how did God answer him? [I Kings 19:18 says], "I [i.e., God] have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed their knee [in worship] to Baal [Note: "Baal" was a term used for one of the idols worshiped in Elijah's day by Canaanites and others in Palestine].

What then? [Just this]: The very thing that the Israelites are looking for [i.e., a right relationship with God], they have not found. But God's selected ones obtained [this right relationship with Him] and the rest [of the Israelites] were made insensitive to God's call,

as it has been written [Isa. 19:10], "God gave them a spirit of numbness [i.e., they developed a spiritual insensitivity to God and His word]. [He gave them] eyes to see with [but they would not look], and ears to hear with [but they did not listen]. And they still have this spirit."

So, look at God's kindness and severity. He was severe with those [Jews] who have fallen, but He is kind to you [Gentiles], if you continue to accept His kindness [i.e., by living for Him faithfully]. Otherwise, you too will be cut off [like the Jews were].

For I want you to know this secret, brothers, so you will not become conceited: Part of the Israelites have become [spiritually] insensitive [to God], [and will remain that way] until the fullness of the Gentiles occurs. [Note: As with verse 12, concerning the Jews, "fullness" here may mean either a large or the complete number of Gentiles who will be saved].

For you Gentiles were disobedient to God in the past, but now you have obtained [God's] mercy by means of the disobedience of the Jews.

So, now these [same] Jews have also been disobedient [to God], so that they may also now obtain [God's] mercy by means of the mercy [He has] shown to you [Gentiles].

And because of God's unearned favor shown to me [i.e., in appointing me to be an apostle], I am telling every person among you not to think he is more important than he really is. Instead, he should have a sensible estimate [of his gifts] in harmony with the degree of faith God has given to each person.

For there are many parts to a single human body and all of these parts do not have the same function.

And we [all] have different gifts, in harmony with the unearned favor [God has] shown us. If our gift is the ability to prophesy [i.e., to speak for God], we should make use of this gift in harmony with the amount of faith we have.

Have the same [good] thoughts toward one another. Do not [always] be thinking you are a "bigshot," but lower yourself to accept humble tasks [or, humble people]. Do not think you are so smart.

For [the commandments are: Ex. 20:13ff], "You must not be sexually unfaithful to your mate. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not have a strong desire for what belongs to someone else." These and any other commandments are summed up in these words, "You must love your neighbor the same as you love yourself."

For this is the reason that Christ died and [now] lives again, so that He could be Lord of both those who have [already] died and those who are [still] alive.

But why do you [who eat only certain foods] condemn your brother [who feels he can eat anything]? Or, indeed, why do you [i.e., who feels he can eat anything] look down on your brother [i.e., who eats only certain foods]? For all of us will have to stand before the judgment bar of God.

So then, every one of us [i.e., including Christians] will have to give an account of himself to God.

For whatever things were written previously [i.e., in the Old Testament], were intended for us to learn from, so that we could have hope [i.e., in the face of difficult times] through remaining steadfast, and through the encouragement [received] from reading the Scriptures.

May God, [the source] of hope, fill you with complete joy and peace as you believe [in Christ], so that you may have an abundance of hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And I, myself, am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, and have been filled with all kinds of knowledge and are capable of counseling one another.

But I have written to you quite boldly in some places to remind you [of certain things], because of the favor shown to me by God,

Therefore, as I have fellowship with Christ Jesus, I am proud of my service to God.

in the power demonstrated by [miraculous] signs and wonders, [produced] by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, I have completed preaching the good news about Christ from Jerusalem, all the way around [the area] to Illyricum [Note: This country was located northwest of Greece and in present-day Croatia].

But, as it is written [Isa. 52:15], "Those people who had not been told about Him will see [the truth], and those who have not heard [the message] will understand [it]." [Note: Paul here applies a Messianic prediction to his ambition of doing pioneer evangelism].

This is why I have been so often hindered from coming to you.

But now, since I do not have any more [new] places [to preach] in this area, and have been wanting to visit you for many years,

For they thought it was a good idea, and [besides] they were indebted to those Jewish Christians. For if the Gentiles [have] shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jews, [then] they owe it to those Jews to help meet their material needs.

So, when I have completed this task, and have guaranteed [the safe delivery of] this offering to them, I will visit you on my way to Spain.

And pray that I will [be able to] come to you joyfully, if it is God's will, and have a refreshing visit with you.

Now I urge you, brothers, watch out for those who are causing divisions and occasions for falling [away from God over matters] contrary to the teaching you have learned, and withdraw from them [i.e., stop listening to their false teaching].